Magnetic tunnel junction structure

1. A magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) device formed by a process comprising:

forming a trench in a substrate, that includes an inter-metal dielectric layer and a cap film layer;

depositing an MTJ structure within the trench, the MTJ structure including a bottom electrode, a pinned layer, a tunnel barrier layer, a free layer, and a top electrode;

applying a reverse photo etching process to remove material that is not directly over the trench; and

planarizing the MTJ structure without performing a photo-etch process on the MTJ structure.

2. The MTJ device of claim 1 , wherein forming the MTJ device further comprises performing a magnetic annealing process to define an orientation of a magnetic field carried by the pinned layer.

3. The MTJ device of claim 1 , wherein the trench has a substantially rectangular shape.

4. The MTJ device of claim 1 , wherein planarizing the MTJ structure comprises performing a chemical-mechanical planarization process on the MTJ structure.

5. An apparatus for forming a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ), the apparatus comprising:

means for depositing a cap film layer onto an inter-metal dielectric layer of a substrate;

means for forming a trench in the substrate;

means for depositing an MTJ structure within the trench, the MTJ structure including a bottom electrode, a pinned layer, a tunnel barrier layer, a free layer, and a top electrode;

means for removing material that is not directly over the trench; and

means for planarizing the MTJ structure without performing a photo-etch on the MTJ structure.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the means for removing comprises means for applying a reverse photo etching process.

7. The apparatus of claim 5 , further comprising means for performing a magnetic annealing process to define an orientation of a magnetic field carried by the pinned layer.

8. The apparatus of claim 5 , further comprising means for forming a via using a photo-etch process, a photo-resist strip process, and a cleaning process on the cap film layer and on the inter-metal dielectric layer.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 , further comprising:

means for depositing conductive material within the via; and

means for planarizing the substrate.

10. A method comprising:

depositing a cap layer onto an inter-metal dielectric layer of a substrate;

forming a trench in the substrate;

depositing an MTJ structure within the trench, the MTJ structure including a bottom electrode, a pinned layer, a tunnel barrier layer, a free layer, and a top electrode;

removing material that is not directly over the trench; and

planarizing the MTJ structure without performing a photo-etch on the MTJ structure.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein removing the material comprises applying a reverse photo etching process.

12. The method of claim 10 , further comprising performing a magnetic annealing process to define an orientation of a magnetic field carried by the pinned layer.

13. The method of claim 10 , further comprising forming a via using a photo-etch process, a photo-resist strip process, and a cleaning process on the cap film layer and on the inter-metal dielectric layer.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

depositing conductive material within the via; and

planarizing the substrate.

15. The method of claim 13 , wherein planarizing the substrate comprises performing a chemical-mechanical planarization process on the substrate.

16. The method of claim 14 , wherein the trench has a substantially rectangular shape.

17. The method of claim 10 , wherein planarizing the MTJ structure comprises performing a chemical-mechanical planarization process on the MTJ structure.